Last Cigarette Ever
Last Cigarette Ever is the eleventh episode of the fifth season of ''How I Met Your Mother''. The episode was written by Theresa Mulligan Rosenthal and directed by Pamela Fryman. It first aired on December 14, 2009. Plot Summary The gang all start smoking again, and then try to stop. Robin has to deal with an unprofessional co-anchor, Don. Synopsis Future Ted explains how frustrated Robin got at her early morning news show, and describes her taking a smoke break up on the roof, much to the surprise of his listening children. She is then joined by Marshall, who is stressed about his new department head Arthur Hobbs. Barney explains that Marshall's job is at risk because Arthur doesn't remember Marshall, even though Marshall worked for him before and made an angry explosive speech when he quit. When Marshall takes a rooftop break at work, he bumps into Arthur, and to gain his confidence, they share a smoke. Even though Marshall rigorously cleans himself, Lily can still smell the smoke on him, and uses it as an excuse to start smoking again herself (which leads to her voice lowering a few octaves). Finally, Ted and Barney feel left out as their friends smoke outside MacLaren's, and they join in as well. As the week continues, their smoking takes its toll, decreasing Ted's stamina on the stairs, worsening Lily's voice, and giving Marshall's boss, Arthur, a heart attack. They all pledge to stop smoking, though Robin is reluctant at first. Meanwhile, Robin is joined by a new co-anchor, Don Frank, a legend of the pre-6am television world, having broadcast in 39 media outlets. Impressed at first, Robin is quickly disappointed by Don's lack of professionalism or concern, or even pants. She works even harder to prove that her job means something, even booking Mayor Bloomberg on the show. Don tells her to stop taking her job so seriously, and amidst her retorts, he reveals that the Mayor canceled. As she begins to light up a cigarette on air in defeat, the gang calls from the apartment, pleading for her not to break their pact. She agrees, but when she returns to the apartment, she finds everyone smoking on the roof. Future Ted tells the audience in the voice-over that Robin and Don were dating within three months. The gang agrees to have "one last cigarette" as the sun rises, but Future Ted reveals it took years for each member of the gang to actually quit, listing events in their lives that lead to the change: Lily quits the day she decides to try to get pregnant; Marshall quits the day his son is born; Robin quits in June 2013; Barney quits in March 2017; and Ted quits two weeks into dating the children's mother. Continuity *Future Ted's kids are shown to be shocked at knowing that the whole gang smokes, but this fact is well known for some of them: **Lily and Robin smoked just before Lily and Marshall's wedding in second season episode Something Borrowed. **In the episode Moving Day, Barney reveals to Ted that Robin smokes. **In season 4 episode Benefits, Barney is seen smoking a cigarette in front of Lily's kindergartners. **Barney (Zip, Zip, Zip, The Chain of Screaming, Something Blue), Lily (Arrivederci, Fiero), Ted (Something Blue) and Robin (Zip, Zip, Zip, Arrivederci, Fiero) were also known to smoke cigars. *In Life Among the Gorillas, there is a scene in which Lily questions Marshall: "But if those guys try to pressure you to smoke, what do you say?" and Marshall answers: "Only when I'm drunk." *It is revealed that Marshall and (possibly) Lily have at least one child in the future, a boy. *This is the first time that the gang has actually seen Robin's news show. They first attempted this in The Front Porch. *Marshall's new boss, Arthur Hobbs, was his boss before, as seen on The Chain of Screaming. He earned the nickname "Artillery Arthur" for yelling at employees. Marshall yelled loudly at Hobbs and quit the job. *Don was first mentioned at the end of The Playbook episode. Future Ted states that Robin will be dating Don within three months, which they do. Gallery Memorable Quotes Barney: (while smoking) I'm proud of you guys! I have heard how difficult it is for smokers like yourself to quit, and on behalf of non-smokers everywhere, I salute you, and I am here to help. So hand in your cigarettes, and I will get rid of them one at a time. Lily: (raspy-voiced) You're quitting, dollface. I know I don't normally call you dollface, but it kinda works in this voice. Dollface. ---- Barney: I am not a smoker. I only smoke in certain situations: post-coital, when I'm with Germans—sometimes those two overlap—coital, birthdays, to annoy my mom, pre-coital, on a sailboat, the day The Mets are mathematically eliminated every year, and, of course—wait for it 'cause Lord knows I have—pregnancy scares. Ted: Why are you smoking right now? Barney: I'm always pre-coital, Ted. Notes and Trivia Goofs and Errors *The gang uses a Tim Horton's coffee can as an ashtray about halfway through the episode, and the Tim Horton's name is clearly shown in the trademark gold oval on the front of the can. Near the end of the episode, the gang is back on the roof, and the "Tim Horton's" has been removed from the gold oval. Allusions and Outside References *There is a Tim Hortons coffee can beside Ted when the group is smoking on the roof. Robin and Barney visited a Tim Hortons in Toronto in Duel Citizenship. Music *"Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk" by Rufus Wainwright. *Morning Mood from the Peer Gynt Suite by Edvard Grieg, played during flashbacks of 13-year-old Marshall's camping trip, when he had his first cigarette. Other Notes *Overall, this is the ninety-ninth episode. *In the "present" where it shows the kids being told the story, they have gone back to the original room from the pilot episode. The kids are even back in the clothes from that episode. *International Airdates: Australia: April 22, 2010 on Channel 7; United Kingdom: August 5, 2010 on E4 Reception Donna Bowman of The A.V. Club rated the episode with a grade A-.http://www.avclub.com/articles/last-cigarette-ever,36340/ Joel Keller, reviewer at TV Squad described the casting of Harvey Fierstein as Lily's smoking voice as only the third funniest thing in the episode. He praises the flashback scenes to thirteen year old Marshall first smoke as the funniest thing in the episode.http://www.tvsquad.com/2009/12/15/review-how-i-met-your-mother-last-cigarette-ever/ Brian Zoromski of IGN gave the episode only 5.5 out of 10. Zoromski noted that he had never been a smoker and described this as the worst episode ever.http://au.tv.ign.com/articles/105/1055324p1.html References See also External links *[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1559709/ Last Cigarette Ever] at the Internet Movie Database *[http://www.tv.com/show/how-i-met-your-mother/last-cigarette-ever/episode/1311422//summary.html Last Cigarette Ever] at TV.com Category:Episodes Category:Season 5